Tensioning accessory for tubular device of embroidery machines

ABSTRACT

It is a tensioning accessory for tubular device of embroidery machines, belonging to the industrial sector of the components of textile equipment intended to embroider certain areas of articles of clothing, and said tensioning accessory (1) forming a substantially longitudinal rectangular bulkhead (2), affixed through resilient extensions (3) with spring action below and tangentially to the body of the tubular channel (4), creating a spacer gap (5), which can be adjusted according to the necessary tension/stretch to be applied to the type of fabric/garment to be embroidered, adding a functional process for tubular pieces in which only the lining is subjected to tension when pulled, and not the material or article to be embroidered, allowing the application of embroidery in elastic, flexible, fragile and delicate materials.

The present specification refers to the patent application for the invention of a tensioning accessory for tubular device of embroidery machines, belonging to the industrial sector of the components of textile equipment intended to embroider certain areas of garments,

More specifically, the mentioned tensioning accessory was idealized, designed and developed to embroider small tubular articles in automatic embroidery machines, and can also be used for baby clothes, hats, caps, socks, bags, pants, sleeves, pockets and other items of garment where other similar equipment does not normally allow the application of embroidery.

It is known that a common problem faced in the process of embroidery on automatic machines hangs in the occurrence of deformations in the material to which the embroidery is applied, which is involuntary and awkwardly contracted or stretched, according to the direction of the stitches.

In order to minimize such inconvenience, it is customary to resort to the use of a lining on the reverse side of the embroidery, partially reducing these deformations in finishing s that do not harm neither the appearance of the embroidery nor the worked item.

The known obstacles had already been carefully observed and studied by the inventor of the patent application in question, whose meticulous analysis and concern to remedy the existing difficulties, culminated in the granting of document PI 0305078-5, which starts to appear here as positioning element of the state of the art, allied to those mentioned in their respective description, also auxiliary and in a way corresponding to the understanding and location of the state of the art.

In the aforementioned previous patent, a rotary device was created, basically to embroider tubular pieces of small perimeter, notably pockets, showing its ability to wrap the arm of the embroidery machine with a smaller perimeter than the cylindrical one, at the same time in which the needle plate is flat and close to the area being embroidered, rotating the piece of clothing over itself and also over the mentioned needle plate, with a speed proportional to that of the embroidery's machine pantograph.

The aforementioned device enabled greater practicality, speed, cost reduction and considerable savings in production by eliminating the need to use parts different from those normally used for flat embroidery, as well as accessories with adaptations in specific formats to be able to access areas with curvatures, also bringing some of the following advantages:

-   embroidery on tubular garments with a smaller perimeter than     cylindrical devices; -   suppressed the curved or arched effect in pockets when embroidering     on conventional rotary devices; -   made it possible to embroider pockets across their entire width     without the need to remove them from the respective garment; -   provided greater use of the areas to be embroidered, among other     benefits.

Despite the enormous success and demand for the device for embroidering machines protected through the aforementioned original document owned by the same inventor of the patent application in question, his attention is always focused on innovating and increasingly facilitating the tasks intrinsic to its purposes as well as being able to make available to the public more and more effective, economical and functional products, also assisting the entire network of authorized and faithful traders, manufacturers, distributors and suppliers to its line of accessories related to the sector, found that in the previous model, although efficient, the material to be embroidered needed to be always supported, without looseness, on the tubular support while it was pulled alternately in opposite directions.

It occurs that small stretches caused gaps by shortening or even eliminating movements, while a shrinkage tightened the material on the tubular support and could slow the movement, damaging or tearing it in some occasions, or even locking the machine.

In view of these inconveniences and after several tests and studies, the tensioning accessory for the tubular device of embroidery machines in question was reached, through which it was possible to maintain a uniform tension in the material during the realization and completion of the entire process.

This possibility was also due to the replacement of the parallel rods by the said tensioning accessory, which acts by rigidly fixing the lining and simultaneously acting as a tension spring, absorbing the formations caused by embroidery, in addition to granting greater precision to the applied points, and, consequently, better finish and with an optimized visual result.

In addition, an elastic component is created that rotates around the tubular support by pressing the material in order to move it away from the surface in one of the two sections that are located between the tensioning accessory that holds and pulls this material by turning around the support and the needle plate.

It also adds a functional process for tubular pieces in which only the lining is subjected to stresses when pulled, and not the material or article to be embroidered, whose characteristic allows to apply embroidery on elastic materials such as mesh, flexible artifacts such as satin, microfiber and other fragile and delicate fabrics.

Thus, the material to be embroidered (e.g. fabric pocket, mesh sock, shirt sleeve, among other flexible sewing items) is mounted on the lining and fixed to it so that it follows all movements, crimping that fixing can be done in different ways (temporary adhesive, clothespin, paper clip, sewing at the beginning of embroidery, etc.)

It is worth noting that the tensioning accessory for the tubular device of embroidery machines now disclosed can be used in any other compatible equipment for embroidery and sewing, including in older machinery, modernizing them and making them competitive again for today, subject to be used even to embroider unstructured straw hats, fabric and other suitable raw materials.

The details of this description are carried out through representative drawings of the mentioned tensioner accessory for tubular device of embroidery machines, so that it can be properly used by appropriate technique, allowing full characterization of the functionality of the object claimed.

Through elaborated figures, which express the best or preferential way to accomplish as much as idealized, the descriptive part of the report is based, through a detailed and consecutive numbering, clarifying aspects that may be implied by the adopted representation, in order to clearly determine the protection now sought, making it opportune to emphasize that such figures are merely illustrative, and may present variations in different aspects, such as dimensional, material and conformation, as long as it does not escape the scope of the amount claimed.

Thus, the patent application in question brings a tensioning accessory for tubular device of embroidery machines specially designed and developed to obtain enormous practicality, adding great advantages, both in its use and in its manufacture, with low costs for its operational feasibility, allied, however, to the requirements of robustness, ergonomics, design and utilitarian convenience.

In order to better illustrate and assist the understanding of the tensioning accessory for device of embroidery machines that make up the object of the present innovation, drawings are presented, to which references will be made, together with the description below, where:

FIG. 1 shows the bottom view of the tubular support set, equipped with the tensioning accessory in question;

FIG. 2 shows the mentioned set in front view;

FIG. 3 shows this set in longitudinal cut, according to line A-A represented in the figure immediately above;

FIG. 4 represents a bottom-frontal perspective view, a tubular set with few structural variations, equipped, however, with the said tensioning accessory.

According to the aforementioned illustrations, referenced together with the description that follows, the present specification of the patent application deals with a tensioning accessory for tubular device of embroidery machines, belonging to the industrial sector of the components of textile equipment intended to embroider certain areas of garments, said tensioner accessory (1) forming a substantially rectangular longitudinal bulkhead (2), affixed through resilient extensions (3) below and tangentially to the body of the tubular channel (4), creating a spacer gap (5), which can be adjusted according to the tension/stretch required to be applied to the type of fabric/clothing to be embroidered.

In view of the above, and as has been largely demonstrated, the model in question is a very useful innovation, revealing considerable differences over the existing conventional ones, in addition to having completely different characteristics from those pertinent to the state of the art, whose development brought better solutions results in their respective use, also resulting in operations that can be performed with much more practicality, economy and efficiency, fully satisfying the proposed objectives, carrying out in a practical and efficient way the functions for which it was designed, providing a series of advantages inherent to its applicability, having its own characteristics, innovative and endowed with fundamental requirements of novelty, and for all these aspects, the object of the present application is worthy of protection as an invention patent, which is now claimed. 

1. “TENSIONING ACCESSORY FOR TUBULAR DEVICE OF EMBROIDERY MACHINES”, characterized by the said tensioning accessory (1) forming a substantially rectangular longitudinal bulkhead (2), affixed through resilient extensions (3) with spring action below and tangentially to the body of the tubular channel (4), creating a spacer gap (5), which can be adjusted according to the necessary tension/stretch to be applied to the type of fabric/garment to be embroidered, adding a functional process for tubular pieces in which only the lining is subjected to tension when pulled, and not the material or article to be embroidered, allowing the application of embroidery in elastic, flexible, fragile and delicate materials. 